


It's Ya Li'l Boy

by Bluethealpha



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27062404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluethealpha/pseuds/Bluethealpha
Summary: Almost out of nowhere, Guzma ends up having to take care of a son he didn't know he had, named Koji. With the help of his friends and former gang, he begins to learn how to be a parent. Better than his own, at least. And maybe learn a little patience and gain the ability to control is temper a little more along the way. But sometimes, it might take something major to happen to really learn the importance of anger management.This 5-part story mainly follows his son Koji but also follows Guzma from time to time.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. The Surprise

The entire eastern side of Alola was drenched with heavy rain late that afternoon. It was no hurricane but the strong winds and booming thunder almost made it seem like both Akala and Ula’Ula island were in such a natural disaster. 

Trudging through the thick mud on a beaten route, a man draped a thick silver coat over his head, shielding both himself and a squirming object pressed to his chest. It wailed as the thunder rang in its little ears. 

The man carrying the baby grumbled to himself and carried on down the winding path, finally stopping at a massive concrete wall with large metal doors. 

The figure let go of the coat and let it rest atop his head, frantically slamming a fist on the doors. It didn’t take long for them to slowly open up, allowing the stranger to enter the city in silence. 

The mysterious man was intimidated by the abandoned appearance of the town, hesitating to take a step further. Thankfully for him, though, someone was approaching, a woman with long pink hair and yellow highlights. 

She crossed her arms and gave him a suspicious glare. “Are ya lost, buddy?” She asked the man, keeping her intimidating stare as she stepped closer. 

The woman paused hearing the child in his arms, raising a brow curiously. 

“I’m not lost, I’m here to drop this off. Tell your boss or whatever he is now to take it and leave my daughter alone, or I’ll deal with him myself!” He shoved the child into the woman’s arms, then angrily dropped a letter at her feet before storming off, disappearing into the thick sheets of rain.

The woman blinked in confusion, holding the child in disbelief. She was able to piece two-and-two together, knowing who the man was and scoffed. “Well, good riddance to him. That bastard.”

A short man with blue hair ran up, “Big sis! What’cha got there, huh?” He flinched when the object in her arms began to wail, eyes wide in shock; “Yo, is that a BABY?! The heck you doin’ with one of those?!” 

“Numbskull, did you not just see the man runnin’ off?” Plumeria scolded, then pointed to the letter as she began to gently shush the infant. “Could you grab that, Tupper? We’re takin’ both these to Guzma.” 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the back of Po Town, the shady house stood battered and broken under the storm, just barely strong enough to hold out the nasty weather to protect its occupants. Some holes in the ceiling dripped water into buckets, not even the wood patching up said holes could protect the floors from the powerful rain. 

Plumeria carried the child inside, constantly trying to get it to stop crying to no avail. 

Tupper, following close behind, held his hands over his ears and groaned, “Shut that thing up, will ya? It’s hurtin’ my head!” He immediately cowered when she raised a hand in his direction, threatening to smack him.

“It’s just a baby, Tupper. It ain’t gonna just do whatever ya want, it’s probably hungry.” She continued up a broken staircase, following a filthy and torn rug to a pair of double-doors. She used her shoulder to push them open with her hands a little occupied at that moment.

Just to the left of the room was a tall, burly man and a couple of others frantically attempting to board up a hole in the ceiling that let the rain come pouring inside. Two of the three smaller figures held buckets all under the hole, while the third helped to try and nail boards into the ceiling. 

“This ain’t gonna hold all the rain but it’ll do for now. Thanks, guys.” The man said to his comrades, giving them a thumbs up.

“Guzma, I need to talk with you.” Plumeria approached the group, the cold, blank expression on her face softening. “It’s important.”

“Sure, what’s up, Plums?” Guzma chuckled and stepped off an old ladder until hearing the child’s cries in her arms. He frowned and looked at the woman puzzled, “Eh, why do ya got a baby with ya? Where did it come from?”

Plumeria pulled away the blanket wrapped around it. “A man came to the doors and said to give it to you. I think it’s Emelina’s.” Her saddened expression worsened when seeing the shocked look on her friend's face. 

She stepped aside to gesture to Tupper, who looked just as surprised as Guzma hearing what the woman had said. “He also dropped a letter for you.” 

Guzma took the letter first, ripping it open and reading it carefully. His eyes danced around the single page of messy handwriting, his large hands gripped the paper before ripping it in half.  
He grabbed his head and yelled with rage, “THAT BASTARD’S GONNA BE THE ONE TO GET IT IF HE EVER SHOWS HIS STUPID MUG ‘ROUND HERE AGAIN!!” He slammed a fist against the nearest wall.

His outburst caused one of the boards he just nailed into the ceiling to collapse, allowing the rainwater to fill the buckets on the floor again. The loud clattering noises from the wooden boards startled the infant, making its cries grow louder. 

Plumeria shook her head as she cradled the child, “Guzma, breakin’ things and screamin’ ain’t gonna change anything. Just forget about Emelina, she ain’t worth it. But it’s clear this is your kid. Don’t tell me your gonna ignore it just because of a grudge. It ain’t its fault, y’know.” 

One of the young ladies near the broken ceiling ran up to Plumeria, looking down at the child and smiling. “It’s so cute! Wait- shouldn’t we see if it’s a li’l guy or gal so we ain’t always callin’ it an ‘it’?” She asked.

“It can be an it if it wants to be!” Another one of the young ladies spat.

Plumeria rolled her eyes, “Well for now-”

“Lemme see it!” Guzma, still angry about the letter he had read, snatched the baby from Plumeria and held it out to examine its face. 

Because of how he held it, the blanket around the baby fell, revealing it wasn’t even wearing a diaper. With a forced grin, Guzma immediately gave the baby back to Plumeria. “Problem solved; it’s a boy.” 

The others in the room all snickered.

Plumeria rolled her eyes while she reached down to grab the blanket and wrap it back around the little boy. “Guzma...do you even care that he’s your son?”

Guzma crossed his arms, frowning sadly and looking back at the infant. “‘Course I do. Just...I need time to process all this. ‘Specially that damn letter. I still can’t believe she left…” 

“Well, if it helps. She left this li’l guy too, so you got somethin’ in common with him. And you ain’t gonna be raising him alone either. We’re all here.” 

Guzma thought about it for a moment, hiding the fact that all of what was happening was bringing him to tears. One of the few moments he actually showed vulnerability to his peers. 

Quickly turning away to rub his eyes and conceal his face from the others, he let out a bit of a chortle. “Heh, guess you’re right then. But don’t go thinkin’ I was gonna just kick the li’l guy out.”  
He then turned back around, smirking and holding up a fist. “He’s one of us now! Ya hear? And we’re gonna raise ‘im up to be big and strong!” 

“Did that letter there say he had a name?” One woman questioned, pointing to the torn up piece of paper on the floor.

Their boss shook his head, “Nope. But it don’t matter anyhow! Cause we’re gonna give him a name that’ll knock people’s socks off just hearin’ it! When they see him waltzin’ down the street they’ll know not to mess with the likes of him!” 

“So, what’ll be the li’l booger’s name then?” Tupper asked before Plumeria elbowed him in the gut.

She noticed the infant finally stopped crying, letting out a sigh of relief. 

However, she wasn’t too surprised to see that Guzma didn’t have an immediate answer to Tupper’s question. “I’m sure we can all help find a name for him, Guzma.” She mentioned to the man, seeing him struggle to come up with any ideas.

“Ooh! Ooh! Whaddya think ‘bout Bruno?” One woman called out, raising her hand. 

“Nah, nah, that’s a name for lame singers! Think tougher!” The other woman shouted, “Like Turbo! Turbo’s a wicked tough name!” 

Guzma slapped a hand over his face hearing his friends blurting out random, and quite absurd names. 

He approached the former grunts and shook his head. “You’re all makin’ fools of yourselves here! If anythin’, this kid’s dad has to be the one to name him! So I say he’ll be called- Skips, son of Guzma!” 

“What about Koji?” 

“Koji, son of Guz- wait…” Guzma looked to Plumeria, who had a pretty smug look on her face, still holding the child.

Her smile grew wider, looking down at the infant. “I vote that his name be Koji. It means ‘little’. Since he’s so small, it’s fitting, don’t you think?”

The former grunts all looked at one another, seeming to agree with her. 

Guzma put his hands on his hips with confidence, dipping his head with pride. “Alright then! His name shall be Koji, son of Guzma! Or- Koji for short!” 

“His full name shouldn’t have yours in it too…” Plumeria glared at her friend, who just laughed and shrugged.

“Eh, would be better with it in there, y’know? It’d add toughness to it!”

Plumeria rolled her eyes, “It’d scream to everyone that he’s got an egotistical father...”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following morning, the storm had subsided, bringing a welcoming warmth to the cloudless sky. 

A man, somewhat middle-aged, entered Po Town with an expression that appeared bored, yet content. Following by his side as an Alolan Persian, who observed her surroundings with a sly grin. 

Just before entering the shady house, the man could hear arguing and child-like wailing. Mystified by the new sounds melding with more familiar, yet annoying noises coming from inside, he entered the building and traveled up the stairs. 

Upon reaching the largest room, he noticed a group of distressed grunts on their knees and plugging their ringing ears. In the center of the room, Guzma and Plumeria were both struggling to quiet down baby Koji, who was red in the face crying so loudly. 

Astounded by the sight, the man spoke up over the upset child; “The hell is going on here?!” 

“Boss’ ex-girlfriend left him this brat and we dunno how to shut the thing up!” One of the young men responded, just barely removing his hands from his ears just to be able to hear himself talk. 

Guzma grabbed the old man by the shoulders, bags under his eyes and looking like he was on the verge of going insane, “Help us, Nanu! He’s been cryin’ since early this morning, we dunno what to do!”

“Have you ever thought of asking Kukui and Burnet for help?” Nanu immediately answered with an unamused glare. “I barely know a thing about raising a kid, so I’d be no help. But they would.”

Guzma was silent, clearly not having thought of what Nanu suggested. He looked behind him at Plumeria; “We’re goin’ to MeleMele Island, NOW!” 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waves crashed onto the sandy shores, a small house sat on the beach, just far enough away to avoid the rising tides. 

Guzma, Plumeria, and Nanu entered the home, being welcomed inside by a muscular man with only a lab coat over his shirtless body. 

Koji was still weeping, his cries reverberating against the wooden walls. 

“Gee, he’s got quite a strong pair of lungs on him. No doubt, he’s starving!” Kukui said to Guzma, shaking his head and heading into the little kitchen to the left of the room. 

Guzma watched him in surprise, “We’ve only been here for 5 seconds! How the hell did ya know that just by lookin’ at him?!”

“Guzma, I’ve already been through this with Rei and Luana, I know how to tell when a baby is hungry.” Kukui laughed at his oblivious friend, he dug through cabinets for an empty bottle and then the refrigerator for some other things. “When we get this little guy fed and settled down, I’ll give you some of Luana’s extra baby stuff for him to last you a few days, then you need to get more yourself.” 

While Kukui was preparing what couldn’t be anything else than a bottle of formula for Koji, a little girl ran up from the staircase hidden behind an aquarium, followed by a playful Lycanroc and throwing a ball across the room. 

The girl paused seeing the three guests, brushing her bright silver hair back away from her yellow eyes. When hearing the baby crying she looked behind at the staircase, “Mommy! Mr. Guzma’s crying again! He’s getting better at sounding like a real baby!”

“What?! I ain’t cryin’! Do ya see tears rolling down my face?!” Guzma leaned down to show the girl his eyes, holding Koji while doing so.

Luana ran up to Guzma, ignoring him completely and looking at the baby in his arms. “Oh.” She looked at the stairs again, seeing her mother was already walking up to see what the commotion was about, followed by a young boy. “Nevermind, mommy! It’s an actual baby!” 

“What?” Burnet rushed toward the group, seeing the infant in Guzma’s arms. Without hesitation, she grabbed the baby from his arms and began to rock it, pacing around the room with Koji. 

Nanu chuckled and shook his head; “Funny to see Burnet go into ‘mom-mode’ the moment she sees a baby.” He made himself comfortable and sat on the couch, soon being joined by the little girl. “How are you doing, Luana?” He asked with a smile.

“I ate a bug today!” She replied almost immediately, crawling up to him and grabbing the z-crystal tied around his neck to have a better look at it.

Nanu’s smile shifted into concern, looking down at Luana with a raised brow. “Oh..?”

“They were Grubbin Gummies, not real bugs.” Kukui glanced over to clear up what his youngest said to the kahuna, leaving the kitchen to hand a baby bottle to his wife.

Burnet took the bottle and held it to little Koji’s face. The infant was quick to take the nipple of the bottle and drink up the formula hungrily, quieting down now.

A sigh of relief filled the room, Guzma hit his knees and groaned, “Thank Arceus…”

“So, where did he come from?” Burnet asked Guzma, looking at him worriedly. “He doesn’t even look older than a few weeks. Poor thing…”

Plumeria stepped forward, crossing her arms and sadly shaking her head. “Guzma’s ex-girlfriend, Emelina...last night, her father brought Koji to Po Town and only left a letter with him. The letter didn’t say much about the baby but it sure said nasty things to Guzma. Emelina must’ve wanted nothing to do with him and left the kid for Guzma to care for instead of being a real mom.” 

Kukui removed his hat to scratch his head, frowning deeply and exhaling sharply. “I don’t understand why someone would go through all that trouble to abandon their child...it’s not their fault that something bad happened in their life.”

“My best guess is that dad of Emelina’s could be the real one behind all this mess. I never thought of her as the type to do something like this. Even if she did leave Guzma on such a sour note.” Nanu added, rubbing his forehead and briefly taking a look out the window to his left.

Plumeria seemed to agree, nodding her head slowly. “It was that old fart that brought Koji to us last night, and he even left threatening Guzma to never be seen in the same place as Emelina. It would make sense if he were the one who forced her to abandon Koji.”

Kukui and Burnet watched the infant with guilt in their eyes, then looked to Guzma. 

“Guzma…” Burnet spoke up first, “What if you stayed here with us for a few days so we can show you how to take care of Koji? I hope you don’t plan on giving him away-”

“Course I ain’t, do I look like the kind of chump to just abandon my own kid because I ain’t with his mom anymore?” Guzma stood up off the floor, turning to face his back toward the group and resting an arm against the wall. “You guys already know I never had a great father, I wanna be different than him. With your help or not, I’m gonna try to be the best dad this kid’s ever seen.” 

Kukui smiled, “I’m really glad to hear that, Guzma. Does that mean you’ll stay with us? You don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to.”

Guzma dipped his head slowly, turning back to face his friends again. “As long as you guys don’t mind helping me learn HOW to be a dad, then I’ll stay for however long it takes.” 

“Yay!” Luana jumped off the couch and ran around Guzma happily; “Sleepover with Mr. Guzma!” She ran up to her older brother next to their mom and tugged at his arm; “Aren’t you excited, Rei?!”

“Eh, I suppose..?” The young boy looked to his mom with concern, not feeling any better seeing her laugh.

“Guess I’m helping Plumeria hold down the fort at Po Town until you’re back, I suppose?” Nanu asked Guzma with a grin, “Someone’s gotta make sure that place doesn’t actually collapse.”

“Whatever ya wanna do. I don’t care.” Guzma looked over to Nanu with a chuckle, shrugging his shoulders.


	2. Kahunas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now a little older, and making fast friends with Kukui's daughter, Koji gets to learn a bit more about the region he was born in. But upon going to MeleMele Island, he finds out what his dream is; what he wants to be when he grows up.

6 years had gone by since Koji was brought to Guzma by total surprise. Despite being a bit slow learning how to raise a child of his own, Guzma turned out to be a pretty decent father. Not that he’d completely admit it. 

Ever since visiting Professor Kukui and his own family, Koji had developed a sibling-like bond with his daughter, Luana. She was like the big sister he never had, and she acted just as such. 

It ended up being a common trip almost daily for either Guzma, Kukui, or Burnet to bring the two children to hang out and play. 

Luana dashed into Po Town ahead of her father, who wasn’t too worried about her wandering off too far now that they were within the abandoned city’s walls. Especially with Team Skull mostly disbanded, the old crumbling city was a lot safer. Not any cleaner but none of the grunts were as troublesome anymore. Some who remained in Po Town with Guzma and Plumeria noticed the professor and his youngest child walking by and even greeted them with a friendly wave. 

On the porch of the Shady House was Koji, sitting on the back of Nanu’s Persian, who didn’t seem to mind the boy bounding on her back. She slept soundly with her front legs dangling over the steps while the boy scratched her head and played with her ears. They twitched at the slightest touch from the child’s little fingers.

“Koji! Look what I got today!” Luana waved to her young friend, grabbing him by the arm and nearly tearing him off the Pokémon. She pointed to a smaller Pokemon that flew around her, a little black and white bird with red markings atop its head.

Koji slipped off Persian, his shaggy black hair getting in his face until brushing it back. He beamed seeing the little Pikipek land on Luana’s arm that she held out. It hopped up to her shoulder and rubbed its face against her cheek. “Woah! What kind of Pokémon is that?” He asked curiously.

“It’s a Pikipek! Isn’t he the coolest? He and I are gonna do the island challenges together when I turn 11 this year.” Luana scratched the Pikipek’s head, giggling to it grabbing a strand of her hair in its beak playfully.

Finally appearing was Kukui, bringing a hand out of one of his lab coat pockets to give a wave to Nanu, who stood up and approached the young man with a gentle smile. 

“About time you two showed up. I wasn’t sure how much longer Persian was gonna tolerate Koji riding on her back.” The Kahuna shook the Professor’s hand, letting out a hefty chuckle.

Kukui nodded, “I’d hate to see what she’d do had we gotten here any later. I had promised Luana that I’d help her catch her first Pokémon, so we did that on our way here.” 

“I can see that.” Nanu glanced at Koji and hid his hands in his jean pockets, smirking to the professor, “Well, now that you’re here, I’m gonna head back to the station.”

“Where’s Guzma?” Kukui looked around the yard for his old friend, expecting him to be nearby since his son was outside.

Nanu pointed above his head to the balcony; “He’s napping. Koji woke him up super early this morning and made him play outside with him until a couple of hours ago. I swear- that kid’s got unlimited energy. Hopefully, Luana will be able to help him burn enough of it off so he can also take a nap.” 

Kukui laughed, looking over to see his daughter slightly bending down to let Koji pet the little Pikipek on her shoulder. “You seem to really know your stuff, huh, kahuna?”

“You’re the one with kids, you know far more than I do. I never got that chance so I only know what I learned from helping out Acerola. I’m no expert on children by any means.” Nanu responded with a slight change in tone, a bit gruffer than how he spoke earlier and facing away from Kukui. 

Kukui chuckled, not completely understanding what the older man meant by that but chose not to question him. “Since Koji’s birthday’s coming up, Luana wanted to catch him a Pokémon. So we might be taking him back to Melemele Island to do so. Though, I’m hoping it’d be easier on Guzma if Koji just stays the night for that. Give him a bit of a break too.” 

Nanu shrugged; “Do what you think is best. I’m sure Guzma and Plumeria would thank you for the break. I know I would too since I get stuck babysitting him too.”

Kukui dipped his head, waving back to the kahuna when he raised his hand in dismissal as he walked away. The large Persian chasing after her trainer with a purr.

Koji giggled while the Pikipek hopped onto his arm, nibbling the end of his small nose. “Can I do the island challenges with ya, Lulu?” The boy asked innocently. 

Luana sighed and shook her head; “You’re only able to do the Island Challenges when you turn 11. Sorry, cousin!” 

Hearing the little boy ask that, followed by a disappointed frown, Kukui felt a tugging at his heart. He distinctly remembered his own participation in the challenges, and when he and Guzma were a lot closer. When he thought about it more, he suddenly started to fear if the challenges might cause a rift in the children’s friendship. It made him nauseous at the thought of history repeating itself. 

Luana tapped a finger on her chin, thinking out loud; “I wonder if I’d be able to wait to do the challenges with you...that’d be really cool if we could do it as a team! Or even rivals!”

“What’s a rival? It sounds mean…” Koji frowned and looked to his friend with those big, dark yellow eyes. 

“No no!” Luana shook her head and crossed her arms, “Rivals is just like another way to say you got friendly competition. We both compete for the same goal but we’re still friends. And we battle a lot together!” 

Kukui’s worries were temporarily washed away, hearing Luana tell Koji about them being rivals one day. He walked up onto the front porch and pushed one of the doors open, pausing to look back at Koji; “Is Plumeria inside?” He asked before entering the house.

“Yep! She’s just hangin’ out in the hall.” The boy responded, only looking up to Kukui briefly before bringing his attention back to his friend, who had given him a berry to try feeding the little Pikipek.

Kukui dipped his head and entered the building in search of the former Team Skull admin. It didn’t take him long inside, finally walking out of the Shady House moments later and motioning the children over. 

He led them down the sidewalk to leave Po Town; “Let’s get going to Melemele Island, you two! Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll bump into the kahuna at the market.”

Koji and Luana beamed at each other and ran after the professor. “Yay!” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as their boat was docked at Melemele Island, the two children ran across the pier and onto dry land, giggling wildly. 

Kukui followed them, shaking his head seeing them release their pent-up energy. He didn’t chase them, however. With his hands in his pockets, he kept walking down the pier and eventually reaching the pavement. 

Koji and Luana raced down the sidewalk, just barely avoiding other people taking a stroll through Hau’oli City. Making a sharp right turn around a building, only Luana skidded to a halt when she noticed someone was standing in her way. 

Koji didn’t stop and slammed right into the back of the person’s legs. The boy fell backward, rubbing his head and groaning. 

The figure turned around and let out a hearty chuckle, holding out a hand to him. “Well, seems like someone forgot to watch where they were going! You gotta be careful now, kid!” The husky voice said teasingly. 

Koji’s eyes slowly followed the arm up until meeting its owner, a pair of dark grey eyes filled with kindness and a bright, friendly smile greeting him. 

“Alola!” The man lifted him up with ease, then placing his hands on his hips.

“Alola, Kahuna Hau!” Luana waved to the man and giggled. “It was my fault he ran into ya, we were racing to beat my dad to the market.” 

Hau brushed back his dark green hair and shook his head, “No need to apologize for having a bit of fun! Tell you what- I know a shortcut to the market if you REALLY wanna beat your pops.” Just as he leaned down to whisper it to Luana, Kukui showed up. 

“Teaching my daughter your dirty little tricks, eh, Kahuna?” Kukui questioned with a smirk, “You know I can’t allow secrets between anybody and my children. Except for their mother, of course.” 

Hau laughed, “I understand! Well, I won’t keep you three for much longer, I got a lot of work to do around town before I can have a malasada break. If you’re not busy later, why not come share a batch of ‘em with me, yeah?”

“Can we, dad?! Please, please, please?!” Luana pleaded, holding her hands together and looking at Kukui with her puppy-dog eyes, bouncing up and down eagerly.

While she was begging her father about having lunch with the kahuna, Koji stared up at the young man standing before him.

With his hands stuffed into his grandfather’s old yellow coat, Hau looked down at Koji with a warm smile. “Say...you’re Guzma’s kid, yeah? I remember seeing you when you were just a li’l baby. How old are ya now?”

Koji, being a shy little boy, clammed up and hesitated to give the man a reply, nervously tapping his index fingers together. “I.....I’m…” His face flushed, he was becoming more and more bashful around the adult as he struggled to tell him his age. The one thing he didn’t have in common with his father was just how crippling his skittishness around new people was. 

Thankfully, he didn’t have to struggle for much longer when Kukui spoke up for him; “He’ll be 7 in just a few days. I know, he doesn’t look it at all.”

“That he doesn’t! He sure does look like a mini-Guzma, too.” Hau laughed, leaning down to pat Koji’s head before waving to the small group. “Well, I gotta go help out some of the farmers outside of town. You kids don’t drive the professor too crazy now, got it?”

Luana waved back to the kahuna, giggling, “No promises, Mr. Hau!” She noticed Koji not waving back and grabbed him by the wrist, waving his arm around for him. Still holding his wrist, she dragged the boy behind her while following her father through town. 

Koji watched the kahuna walking away, waving to civilians as he traveled down the sidewalk.  
Hau’s mere appearance radiated with strength and leadership, which piqued the boys’ interest, it made him curious about what it was like being a kahuna. Even if he didn’t really know that his uncle Nanu was also a kahuna, he never felt such a strong aura from him the same way he did when around Hau. “Mr. Kukui!” Koji spoke up, causing the adult to look down at him with an elevated brow.

“What’s up, Koji?” Kukui replied with a smile

“What do kahuna’s do exactly?” 

Kukui paused and turned to completely face the kid, kneeling down in front of him. “Oh? Did meeting the kahuna just now interest you?”

Luana stood by her father, leaning down to rest her hands on her knees, her Pikipek jumping up to be on her head. She spoke up before her father could; “Kahuna’s are people who are chosen by their island’s guardian deities! They not only overlook and play as the final obstacle you face in the island challenges, but they also help in protecting their island! Just like his grandfather, Mr. Hau goes to help the farmers and also resolve conflicts such as arguments between neighboring farmers.”

“Yeah! Very good, Luana!” Kukui smiled at his daughter, giving her a thumbs-up before looking back to Koji. “Being a kahuna is a BIG responsibility. Once the guardian deities choose a kahuna, they hold that role for life and cannot turn it down, as it’d disrespect them. Hau was chosen as Melemele Island’s kahuna just 2 years after his grandfather passed away.”

Koji glanced back over in the direction Hau had left, noticing the kahuna was long gone. He smiled and grabbed one of Kukui’s coat sleeves; “Could I be a kahuna one day?!” 

The child’s question surprised the professor, he wasn’t even sure how to respond to that. He nervously smiled, shrugging his shoulders; “I don’t get to say whether or not you can, kiddo. That’s all up to the guardian deities.”

“Well, how can I make them notice me?!” Koji seemed to immediately come back out of his shell, getting all fired up from learning about the kahunas. 

Luana laughed, “Maybe they’ll notice you once you participate in the island challenges! You never know when they’ll be watching you. But the best chance you got for them to notice you is to become a challenger.” 

Koji nodded, once more looking down the road where he last saw Melemele’s kahuna, his smile broadening across his face. “I wanna become a kahuna someday! Or something just as cool!”


	3. New Trainer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Koji finally gets his first Pokemon and is eager to train and battle! But when some people go a bit too easy on him in battle, he gets desperate to get stronger faster to catch up to Luana.

Vibrant colors washed across the sky as the sun began to set over the Alola region. It had been a few weeks since Koji turned 7 and given the chance to catch his own Pokémon early. He had returned home empty-handed, however. But that didn’t stop anybody from giving him a Pokémon for his birthday anyway.

Upon entering the Shady House, he was immediately greeted by Plumeria. “Hey, Koji.” She grinned from ear to ear, leaning forward to hold her hand out to him, “Put your hand out like this. I got somethin’ for ya.”

“CANDY?!” Koji held out both hands, almost vibrating with excitement.

Plumeria sighed, “Nice try, squirt. Like I’m gonna give ya more reasons to trash the place even more.” She put an ultra ball in the boy’s hands then pointed to the large white button. “Open it.”

Koji cocked his head to the side, he slowly brought his thumb to the button and gently pressed it. The ball popped open, releasing a little black and orange lizard that jumped onto his face. It startled him and he stepped back in panic for a moment until it crawled onto his shoulder. “A salandit?” He looked at Plumeria with a gleam.

His aunt dipped her head; “Sorry that your birthday present is so late. I hatched her from an egg I found from my Salazzle and thought about how much ya wanted your first Pokémon.”

“I love her!” Koji grabbed the Salandit and hugged it dearly, giggling when it made small chirping sounds at him. He then threw himself toward Plumeria and now hugged her waist; “Thank you so much, Aunt Plumeria!”

“Heh, you’re welcome, Koji.” Plumeria knelt down to hug the boy properly and stroked the back of his head gently. “Ya better train that Salandit a lot or else you’ll never catch up to that Luana friend of yours.”

Koji smirked and pulled away from the hug, “Oh we will! I’ll train as hard as I can so I can beat Luana and be her rival! You’ll see!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the next few weeks, Koji was already running around town demanding a battle with the other former members of Team Skull. But nobody dared use their strongest Pokémon when battling him, not even Tupper had the guts to go all out on the kid. It wasn’t because they feared what’d happen if Plumeria or Guzma caught them battling Koji, they simply didn’t want to upset the boy, who seemed to be a little sensitive when it came to battling.

Koji was quick to find this out, however, and got frustrated with the others.

“Battle me!” He shouted. 

Salandit hissed, her little tail swishing around eagerly and her big lavender eyes squinting at her next opponent intensely. 

Nanu was silent, looking down at the child and his Pokémon challenging him. Even his Persian stared in bewilderment. “Uhh...listen, Koji, you got me all wrong. I’m not all for eh...battling new trainers like you.” As honest and nice as he could put it, Nanu felt extremely awkward having to try and explain it to the kid.

Koji stomped his foot, cheeks puffing up as he started to get irritated with the old man. “I’m not a new trainer, though! I’ve been battlin’ the grunts for weeks now!” He smirked and pointed to himself with his thumb pridefully, “I even beat Mr. Tupper the other day!”

“The grunts have been battling you..?” Nanu raised a brow, rubbing the back of his head as he mumbled to himself; “I hope Guzma’s aware of that…” He cleared his throat and leaned down to put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Koji, I know you really wanna be a trainer but- you need more than just a few weeks of small battles under your belt. And to be honest with you, the grunts were probably going easy on you. They’re too scared of your dad to do any REAL battling with you.”

Koji stomped his feet again, “I know they’ve been going easy on me! That’s why I wanna battle you, Uncle Nanu! You’re a kahuna too, so I could even get ahead of Luana and start the island challenges!”

“Kid, that isn’t how it works-”

“Fine then!” Koji picked up his Salandit and huffed. “I’ll go find someone who’ll battle me for real!” He then took off to his house at the end of town.

Nanu let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his face, brows knitting together in frustration. “The kid is so much like his dad it hurts…” He muttered under his breath.

Koji rushed into his house, up the stairs, and through the double-doors. “Dad!” He called out, “Can I go hang out with Luana today?”

Guzma snorted awake, having passed out in his chair and had drool all on his left hand. Once wiping the drool onto his pants, he leaned into his arms on his lap and shrugged, “If ya can get someone to take ya.”

“I can take him, I need to meet up with a friend over on Melemele Island anyway.” Plumeria appeared from the hall, crossing her arms and softly smiling toward the little boy standing between her and Guzma.

Koji’s eyes lit up, nearly squeezing the Salandit in his arms out of excitement; “Really?!”

“Koji, ya better stick around your auntie Plumeria or Kukui when you’re hangin’ out with Luana, got it? No followin’ strange chumps that offer ya candy or a Rockruff.” Guzma, despite having a smile and half-joking, was serious about what he told his son. “Auntie Plumeria will give me a report when ya both get back, so be on yer best behavior now.”

“Yes, sir!” Koji nodded and turned to his aunt, jumping around excitedly.

Plumeria giggled and motioned the boy to follow; “C’mon. The sooner we get there, the sooner ya can play with your buddy.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Koji and Luana ran around on the beach just outside of Kukui’s house, Plumeria and Burnet watching them from the covered porch. They kicked sand and seawater around, laughing wildly as they chased one another. 

But after a while, Koji smirked and approached his friend, “Do you wanna have a Pokémon battle, Luana?” He asked.

Luana shrugged her shoulders, “Maybe! But you know Pikipek and I are a lot stronger than you and Salandit.” 

“No way! I’ve been trainin’ with the grunts in Po Town for weeks, I’m more than ready to kick your butt!” Koji looked to the Salandit perched on his shoulder like a bird, who hissed in protest to what Luana had said.

“Oh?” Luana leaned forward to get a better look at the little lizard on her friend’s shoulder, “What level is she right now then?”

Koji grinned from ear to ear, puffing out his chest with confidence and swiping his thumb across his face just below his nose. “She’s a level 8! We got up to that in no time thanks to the gang!” 

He was taken aback by the quick snort Luana made before turning away to cover her mouth. He raised a brow at this in perplexion and crossed his arms, “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just that-” Luana stifled a chuckle, visibly struggling not to laugh in front of her friend. “Pikipek is still stronger than your Salandit, we’d demolish you in battle! Though I am impressed with how quickly you two trained up.”

Boy was he not satisfied with Luana’s reaction and grumbled to himself. “Fine then!” Koji exclaimed with frustration; “Why don’t we go someplace to train, you and me? And maybe we’ll catch some more Pokémon to build up our teams!”

The girl’s amused expression shifted to mild concern, her smile turning into a gentle frown and tilting her head to the side. “How so? I don’t think we’re allowed to go anywhere without an adult just yet...not until the gym challenges for me, of course. But eh...your aunt and dad are definitely gonna freak out if you go someplace without them. You’re not exactly old enough to-”

“I don’t care, they can’t keep me under their wing forever. Besides, it isn’t like we’re leavin’ Melemele Island! I wanna find a ghost type Pokémon for my team, so...I was thinkin’ we go to Hau’oli Cemetery.” Koji’s grin grew wider and much more sinister, he was really proud of his idea.

Luana, on the other hand, was not the biggest fan of it. “Koji, that’s crazy! That isn’t exactly the nicest place to go to train, and there could be lots of people there mourning. Couldn’t we go someplace else?”

“If we go at night, there won’t be anyone there. So we’ll be fine!”

“But...when we ask your aunt and my mom, they’ll say no the moment we say where we wanna go. It could get really dangerous…”

“That’s why we’re not tellin’ anyone! I’m gonna convince auntie Plumeria if I can stay the night, and when your parents tuck us in for the night, we’ll just sneak out!”

Luana bit her lip, glancing to her right where her house was, eyeing her mother and Koji’s aunt, who were both sitting down and talking. 

It was clear to Koji that he needed to do a lot of convincing to get his friend to join him. He shrugged and turned to face away from her. “Well, I guess I’ll just go by myself then! I’m sure Salandit and I can handle ourselves on our own while you lay in bed dreamin’ about Ponyta’s and whatever you girls like.”

“Wait!” Luana growled, annoyed at her friend. “Fine...I’ll go with you. But you have to promise we’ll go straight back home before midnight!”

Koji laughed and turned back around to pat the girl’s shoulder, “That’s the spirit! It’s settled then, we’ll leave an hour after bedtime tonight.”  
It was very rare for Plumeria, Guzma, and Luana’s parents to say no to letting them have a sleepover. So the first phase of Koji’s plan was already a complete success. He and Luana waited until the evening when they’d be put to bed to commence the next step of their plan. 

Kukui pulled out a trundle bed from beneath Luana’s adorable white and pale blue bed, sheets already fixed onto the cheap mattress. 

Burnet came into the room with a couple of pillows and an extra blanket, putting them on the bed for the young boy. “Now you two better get some sleep, you hear? Tomorrow you’re both gonna have to come with me around town to do some shopping.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Luana spoke softly, already feeling the guilt building up inside of her for what she and Koji were going to do later that night.

Koji jumped off Luana’s bed and onto the spare bed a few feet closer to the ground, making the rusted springs creak and clatter at his weight. “Will do, Mrs. Burnet! We’ll sleep better than a Snorlax!”

“That’s some claim, Koji,” Kukui commented with a giggle. 

“Let us know if you need anything else, sweetie.” Burnet then leaned over each individual bed to peck a kiss on Koji’s and Luana’s foreheads. 

Koji quickly rubbed his forehead clean, looking annoyed with his friend’s mother. But if he were honest, he liked how Burnet was so motherly toward him as if he was her second son. Not having his real mother around did cause him to miss out on a lot of things Luana had. Not that his aunt Plumeria wasn’t sweet to him, just she was never one to be as motherly and tenderhearted as the Aether Paradise Professor. 

As soon as Burnet was leaving the room, her back facing the little boy, he smiled and waved to her; “Goodnight, Mrs. Burnet..!” 

“Goodnight, Koji.” Burnet looked over her shoulder and waved back before she disappeared into the hall. 

Kukui crawled halfway onto his daughter’s bed, one knee on the edge and balancing himself with the other while wrapping his arms around Luana, then kissing her cheek. “Sleep well, Lulu.” He quietly said to her.

Luana hugged her father back, even returning the kiss on the cheek. “I will…” She slowly released her father from their hug as he stood back up, yawning not long after laying down.

Kukui then looked down at Koji, dipping his head to him; “I better not hear any complaints that you didn’t get any sleep like last time, Koji. You need plenty of rest too if you wanna grow big and strong!” He flashed a kind smile to both the children as he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Luana’s smile instantly vanished and she glared at Koji; “I really don’t wanna do this, Koji..! I don’t wanna upset my parents!” Whispering to the boy, she was even more frustrated seeing he could care less. “I’ll never hear the end of it from my brother either!”

“It’ll be fine, you’ll see!” Koji shrugged; “We’ll be there and back before you know it. We just gotta wait a bit to make sure your family doesn't come checking on us.”

Luana stared up at the ceiling, mumbling to herself as she heard her friend below giggling.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At last, a full hour had gone by and they were in the clear to head out. 

With hesitation, Luana got out of bed and approached her window at the foot of her bed, pushing it open and checking outside before motioning Koji over, who immediately jumped out of bed and swiftly out the window. 

His ability to act that fast, let alone hop clear through the open window caught Luana off guard. “Koji, slow down!” She called out quietly, narrowing her eyes. “What if you fell and made a ruckus?”

“I didn’t though, did I?”

“You’re unbelievable…” With caution, the girl climbed through the window and followed her friend down the dirt path, straight into town. 

Koji and Luana wandered the city, the boy clearly knowing where he was going much better than his friend. 

“How do you even know how to get there?” Luana asked.

“Every time we ran into the kahuna, it’s usually when he’s heading in this one direction behind Hau’oli City. My Uncle Nanu said he visits the cemetery to eat lunch by his grandpa’s grave. So the cemetery is clearly in that direction!”

Luana didn’t even know that Koji knew so much, feeling her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. “Koji...that doesn’t make this any easier for me to go with you! How do you even know Kahuna Hau doesn’t go there at night too? We could get into serious trouble if he of all people find us going into the cemetery without either of our parents!” 

Koji paused, turning around and grabbing Luana’s arm, “It’ll be fine. Believe me, my Uncle Nanu said Kahuna Hau only goes there ONCE a day whenever he can. Mostly around lunchtime, and I remember seeing him heading that way around lunch today, so he won’t be going there!” The boy then made a sharp right turn toward Route 2, dragging Luana behind him. 

It didn’t take long for the young friends to reach the entrance to Hau’oli Cemetery, where even Koji started to get cold feet when seeing the eerie fog emerging from the cavern. 

Luana let out a frustrated sigh and took the boy by the hand, dragging him into the cemetery. “C’mon, I didn’t follow you all this way against my will just for you to chicken out.”

They reached the end of the trail, where a vast opening in a blanket of fog gave them a very unwelcoming sight. 

Tombstones were lined up side-by-side throughout the field, a few glimpses of wild Pokémon wandering the cemetery. 

Koji and Luana followed the trail, the young girl briefly reading each tombstone they walked by. She paused when seeing the graves of various Pokémon, her heart sank seeing even human children were buried there. 

“Luana, come look at this!” Koji shouted.

Luana jumped and hurried to her friend, “Koji, don’t yell..! It’s rude to talk loudly in a cemetery.”

“Just look.” Koji pointed up at a statue.

They both looked up, seeing a clear depiction of the great Kahuna Hala, fake and organic flowers decorating the tomb. At the foot of the stone statue was a ceramic plate with half-eaten, cold malasadas on it. 

Koji was about to grab the treats until Luana slapped his hand away; “Koji! Stop being so rude!”

“No one’s eatin’ it!” He retorted.

“Yes, but it’s meant as a gift for the dead to show respect. Clearly, Mr. Hau left them here when having lunch earlier today.”

The boy pouted and looked around the cemetery, soon catching a glimpse of a wild Zubat. He grinned and brought out his pokéball, releasing his Salandit. 

His companion let out a loud hiss, followed by lunging toward the Zubat.

“Use, smog!” Koji commanded.

Luana looked over and shook her head, getting more and more annoyed by her friend. Until she noticed a large shadow casting behind the Zubat. 

A huge Gastly appeared, taking Salandit’s attack head-on. 

Koji’s Pokémon recoiled and flew back toward him, skidding across the dirt and kicking up dust. 

The boy shuddered at the sight of such a large Gastly, seeing an eerie aura radiating around it. It was much stronger than the typical Pokémon seen around Hau’oli Cemetery. 

“Koji, get out of there!” Luana hollered, running toward her friend and throwing out her Pikipek; “Quick, use rock smash!”

Koji picked up Salandit, who had been knocked out with that single hit by the Gastly. It made him even more fearful when witnessing it take out Luana’s Pikipek just as easily. 

Their only Pokémon were now unable to battle, all they could do was run at that point. They tried heading to the exit and back to Hau’oli City but the Gastly appeared right in front of them, blocking their way out. They were backed deeper into the cavern. 

Terrified for their lives, Koji and Luana hugged each other, shivering and whimpering. They could’ve sworn that was their final moments until, a flash of brown and green zipped over, getting between them and the aggressive Pokémon. 

Luana looked up, suddenly in awe of a Decidueye standing in front of them and attacking the Gastly. 

“Decidueye, get it away from the children!” A husky voice yelled, the figure belonging to that voice running over and dropping a wooden box by the entrance.

Koji looked up next, seeing the bird-like Pokémon leading the Gastly away with its attacks and taunting it to follow. 

Approaching the children was none other than Kahuna Hau. Before either of the children could voice just how relieved they were to see him, he immediately grabbed them both under each arm and jumped out of the way of the Gastly, who tried to directly attack them. 

It slammed into the wall, causing a massive pile of rocks to fall from the top of the cavern. 

Hau rolled onto his back, keeping a firm hold on the children until he could slow his momentum. Quickly getting back on his feet, he put them down and pushed them behind him. “What in Arceus’ name are you two doing here?! You know it’s not safe to be on your own at this hour for MANY reasons!”

“It was all Koji’s idea, I’m sorry, Kahuna!” Luana sobbed, just terrified of the situation they had gotten into. 

Koji felt betrayed, scowling at his friend; “I told you that you never had to come with me, Salandit and I could’ve handled ourselves!”

“You think you two could’ve handled THAT by yourself?!” Luana screamed at the boy, pointing at the furious Pokémon fighting with Decidueye.

“Nevermind that, you two just get out of here before-” Hau was interrupted when Gastly flung Decidueye across the cavern. 

His companion was tossed right toward the graves and slammed right into the former Kahuna’s statue. 

Everyone paused, seeing the statue crumble onto the ground in large chunks. 

Koji and Luana were in disbelief, they couldn’t even begin to comprehend what was going through Hau’s mind after that. All they saw what happened next was a flash of green, witnessing a z-crystal being placed on his bracelet, and outstretching his arm toward his Pokémon. “Decidueye, get the Gastly away from the other tombs, then we’ll finish it off!”

Just as he was told, Hau’s partner tackled the Gastly into the right side of the cavern, and then quickly mimicked its trainer’s moves as if they were one. 

And suddenly, a plethora of arrows came raining down on the Gastly, knocking it out instantly. 

Finally, the battle was over, the Kahuna had won. As soon as he confirmed that the Gastly was finished, he silently approached the pile of smooth stone at the back of the cemetery. 

Koji and Luana followed, watching Hau sit on his knees and pick up a severely cracked stone head of his deceased grandfather’s statue, pressing its forehead against his own.

“K-Kahuna Hau, we’re really sorry-”

“Let’s get you two home.” Hau interrupted Luana, putting the head down and standing up, quietly ushering the children to follow. 

His Decidueye trailed behind, ensuring that nothing else would attack them on the way out.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What were you two thinking?!” Kukui spoke furiously to the two children, who stood in front of the Kahuna on the front porch. 

Burnet looked just as angry, arms crossed below her bust and shaking her head. 

Luana was in tears, hugging herself and also shaking her head; “I-I’m sorry, dad..! I swear, I only went to keep Koji out of trouble! I never thought anything like this would happen!”

“We’re terribly sorry, Hau...we’ll let you know what Guzma says in the morning.” Burnet stepped out of the house to put a hand on the young man’s shoulder, frowning sadly.

Hau took a step back, avoiding Burnet’s touch; “Thank you. I’m just glad I was there in time to save the children.” He forced a smile before going down the wooden steps, leaving the parents to deal with their daughter and her friend.

Kukui looked directly at Koji, a piercing gaze sending chills down the boy’s spine. “I am very disappointed in you especially, Koji. Your father will be coming to pick you up shortly and figuring out how you should be punished.”

“M-Mr. Kukui I...I’m really sorry…” Koji said with tears in his eyes just like Luana. “I just wanted to train...and catch another Pokémon... I didn’t mean for anything to happen..!”

“Don’t apologize to me, you need to apologize to the Kahuna tomorrow when you’re brought back to help clean up the mess you two made. Not only did that statue mean a lot to the residents of Melemele Island, but it meant so much more to Hau!”

Koji slowly nodded, wiping his runny nose in shame. 

Burnet ushered the children inside, closing the front door behind them. “Luana, you need to go straight to bed.” She pointed to the girl’s bedroom, then turning her gaze to the boy. “You should get your things together while you wait for your father, Koji.”

“Yes ma’am…”


	4. The Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picking up the mess in Hau'oli Cemetery, Koji meets a new face. A suspicious face. Koji learns more about his father's past and confronts Guzma about it. But things don't turn out as planned.
> 
> MATURE WARNING: Mild Violence | Mention of lots of blood

Early the next morning, Koji was brought back to Melemele Island by both Guzma and Nanu. The two brought the boy to the little shack on the beach where Luana lived with her parents. 

Koji followed between the two men sheepishly, looking up at each of them with puppy-dog eyes. 

But upon looking up at Nanu, the old man scoffed; “Don’t give me that look. You caused a lot of trouble last night and you gotta help fix the damage. We’re not bailing you outta this one, kid.”

“B-but I wasn’t even the one who broke the statue! It was Kahuna Hau’s Decidueye who-”

“The point is, ya snuck out of your friend’s house and went stickin’ your nose in places ya shouldn’t be without an adult! And draggin’ your friend into it!” Guzma snapped, stopping in front of his son and pointing at him aggressively. “Ya put yerself AND Luana in a lotta danger. Ya could’ve been killed, or ya could’ve cost Luana her life! What ya did was beyond stupid and resulted in public property gettin’ destroyed.”

Nanu secretly mumbled; “Sounds pretty familiar if you ask me…” He smirked when Guzma gave him a dirty look.

Koji didn’t respond that time, twisting his foot around in the sand, the guilt within him rising. 

Guzma let out a hefty sigh and walked up the steps of the small home, knocking on the door. 

Moments later, Kukui walked out with Luana following. “Thank you for bringing Koji, Guzma.” The professor said to him, bowing his head respectfully.

Guzma nodded back, then looked to Nanu; “I’ll come back to have lunch with ya both and see how things are going. Gimme a holler if he finishes up sooner than that.”

“Will do.” Nanu stuffed his hands into his pockets, red eyes shifting toward Kukui. “How many people are coming to help exactly?”

“Hapu’s already there helping with the heavy pieces, and Olivia’s going to come help a bit later. There’ll be a few citizens volunteering to help too. We got a good amount of people, just I dunno if Hau will be there. He was pretty upset about what happened to his grandfather’s statue last night.” Kukui rubbed the back of his head, hissing through his teeth a little while leading the man and the two children toward town. 

Guzma couldn’t help but jeer hearing what Kukui said as he left, waving his hand without looking back toward them, “Good luck.”

Koji sadly watched his father leave, letting out a whimper as he followed Nanu and Kukui. 

Luana noticed this and patted her friend on the back; “My dad’s really upset at me too...but I promise you, as soon as we finish helping out today, they won’t be as mad at us anymore.”

“My dad might be angry for a while…he tends to hold grudges.”

“He only holds grudges if you do something that directly impacts him, kid.” Nanu joined into their conversation to clarify what Koji assumed. “He’s just angry about what you did to directly impact another person. He might be a big baby but he’ll get over it, don’t you worry.”

“Yeah…” Kukui looked down at both children, finally showing a reassuring smile, “Even though what you both did was wrong, you’re at least making up for that mistake.” Seeing Nanu agreed with what he said, Kukui chuckled; “And frankly, you can prove to your dad that you mean business if you really pull your weight at the cemetery today.”

The man’s words brought Koji’s spirits up a little, bringing back that eager smile of his. “Yeah...yeah! I’ll be the best one there cleaning up, so much so that even Kahuna Hau will be impressed by my skills!”

“Well, that’s if he shows up.” Nanu laughed; “But we’ll be sure to tell him all the hard work you did today if you do good.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning went by quickly once everyone was occupied helping pick up the pieces of the former Kahuna’s statue. Even Nanu was helping, though grumbling every now and then when having to help drag an especially large piece of stone away from the grave of his once fellow kahuna.

Koji and Luana were tasked to pick up the smaller pieces, which neither of them minded doing after what happened the night before. They had a bit of fun with it too, making it a game to see how many pieces they could pick up before lunch. The two friends did really well, actually impressing the adults around them. And finally, getting close to lunchtime, the children were already exhausted, sweating, and feeling parched. 

Kukui approached the children, who were sitting in the shade, and pointed to the entrance to the cemetery. “If you hard workers are thirsty, there’s a lemonade cart outside if you wanna grab a glass.” He brought out his wallet, handing Luana a bit of cash.

Koji beamed and ran ahead of Luana, who giggled and followed; “Thanks, dad!” She shouted.

“Hurry up!” Koji stopped in line for the lemonade, getting another burst of energy in anticipation of the refreshing drink. “We should get five glasses for each of us, I’m sooo thirsty!”

Luana laughed, showing him the money, “My dad only gave me enough for one each, silly! If we’re still thirsty afterward, he’ll give us more money then.”

A few others got in line behind them, including a gruff old man, who couldn’t help but turn his attention to the children in line two spots ahead. His short white hair was just barely visible on his balding head and his dark eyes stared right at Koji. He sensed something very familiar about the little boy, furrowing his brows. When the child turned, able to give the old man a better look at his face as he laughed at his friend, the man growled. 

Once Koji and Luana got their lemonade, they sat just outside of the cemetery to drink it under the shade of a large palm tree. It wasn’t until they were approached by the old man when they started to feel uneasy. 

“Um, hello..?” Luana spoke up to the man, to which he smiled sweetly and knelt down in front of them.

“Sorry, I know we don’t know each other yet! I couldn’t help but notice you look a lot like my son.” The man said to Koji, completely ignoring Luana, which made her a bit more uncomfortable about him.

“And...you are?” Koji questioned bluntly, leaning back into one arm while taking a sip of his lemonade. “We’re not buyin’ ya lemonade if that’s what ya want.”

Boy did Luana have to try so hard not to laugh at how candid Koji was to the strange old man, who clearly was just as taken aback by it. 

Sharply inhaling as if to prevent himself from losing his temper with the boy, the man clenched his hands into fists, soon slowly releasing them as he exhaled. “I’m not asking for money to buy lemonade. I’m just wondering who your pops might be. Cause I might know him!” 

“If ya properly introduce yourself, then I might tell ya.”

Luana finally just covered Koji’s mouth, letting out a giggle, “Sorry, he’s just tired from all the work we did today! This is Koji, and I’m Luana.” 

Koji shoved her hand away and scowled at her, putting his drink down to grumpily cross his arms. 

The old man chuckled; “Koji, huh? What a nice name. I’m Puloki. But you can call me Grandpa Loki if it makes it easier.”

The boy shook his head, giving the old man a dirty look again, “I’m not gonna call ya gramps if you’re not really my grandpa.”

“Well, that’s why I wanna know who your dad is. ‘Cause he might be my son! You look a lot like him.”

Koji went quiet for a moment to think, then reluctantly gave Puloki the answer he was looking for; “My dad’s name is Guzma, the awesome old leader of Team Skull!” 

Puloki’s mouth formed a sinister grin, now sitting down properly in front of the children. “Then I guess you’re callin’ me Grandpa Loki. Cause it seems you’re my grandson.”

“Huh, that’s strange though...my dad always told me my grandpa died in a horrible accident and my grandma moved away from Alola.” Koji tapped his chin, pondering this new information he got upon meeting his supposed grandfather.

Luana watched the old man twitch, seemingly aggravated hearing what Guzma told Koji about him. Something also seemed very off about the adult, bringing her to the idea to get someone. She was a bit worried about leaving Koji alone with the old man but she still wasn’t quite sure about Puloki’s intention with her friend. She ran into the cemetery, hoping to find either Nanu or her father.

Puloki chuckled; “Well, your father never liked me. We never saw eye-to-eye...even today we don’t.”

“How come?” Koji cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy, now interested in what Puloki had to say.

His grandfather shrugged; “We got into a bit of an argument when he was a bit older than you. He didn’t like what I said and...well...you probably don’t wanna hear it. I’d hate to change how you view your pops.” Puloki averted his eyes, showing his bottom lip and tensing his shoulders as if to shrug.

“Tell me, tell me..!” Koji’s curiosity was getting the better of him, scooting closer to his grandfather. 

This pleased Puloki, who relaxed his posture and leaned into an arm on his lap. “Well...your dad wasn’t always the strongest trainer growing up, always coming in 2nd at best, just behind that Professor Kukui character. He was always super angry about that and took it out on me and his mother, throwing things and threatening to hurt us. I finally had enough of it and tried to speak to him about it as peacefully as possible. But...he took one of my old golf clubs and struck me with it.” He could see the disturbed look on Koji’s face, in disbelief of what he said. 

Puloki then tilted his head, revealing scars all over his balding head. “Those are from the 9-iron he beat me with.” He looked back to Koji, seeing the boy was now horrified to have seen what he saw. “After your dad ran away from home, your grandmother blamed me for him running away and tried to divorce me immediately. But she only did that recently and moved elsewhere. And all because I wanted to help your father...he still threatens me every day. And clearly didn’t tell you about me, or vise versa.”

Koji looked down into his cup, staring at his reflection in the lemonade. He couldn’t believe what he heard. 

Puloki put a hand on the child’s knee; “And I’m sure he didn’t tell you either...but back before even the current Kahuna was just a regular Pokémon trainer, your father tried releasing many dangerous Pokémon onto Alola, and his little ‘Team Skull’ group tried ruining Alola’s Pokémon League when it first started. If it weren’t for these two random kids, your dad would have succeeded.”

“They’re over here!” Luana dragged Kukui outside to where Puloki and Koji were. 

As soon as he could see the old man, Kukui’s brows knitted together in exasperation, eyes wide in a stare and gritting his teeth. He immediately stepped between the two, glowering at the old man and clenching his hands into fists. “I hope there’s no trouble here…” He said with a deep, threatening tone. 

Puloki stood up, taking a moment to regain his balance before raising his hands to the height of his shoulders, shrugging. He sneered; “Not at all, Professor! I was just getting to know my grandson is all, no harm here.”

“Oh, I’m sure that was your intention, Puloki. You got some nerve.” Nanu showed up, looking even more pissed off than Kukui. “Don’t make me do something I’ll regret.” 

Luana was very confused and even intimidated seeing this new side to both her father and Nanu. “Is he really Koji’s grandpa?” She questioned worriedly.

Kukui held an arm out in front of her as if to tell her to ‘be quiet’, looking back at her with a firm gaze. 

She immediately understood the meaning behind his subtle actions and stepped back, staying silent. 

Puloki sighed and rubbed the back of his head, “Well, I guess I’m overstaying my welcome…” He told Koji with an innocent look upon his face. Turning away, he waved to the boy, “It was nice to finally meet you, grandson!”

Koji didn’t say anything, he kept staring into his cup blankly. 

As soon as Puloki was out of sight, Nanu sat down beside the boy and put a hand on his head, “What did he tell you? I can guarantee you whatever that filthy old fart said isn’t true.”

“He said dad beat him up with a golf club!” Koji told Nanu with fright in his little eyes; “Is that true?”

Kukui and Nanu looked at each other in shock, looking nervous. 

That didn’t help. 

Koji stood up and threw his drink down angrily; “My dad was a real jerk, wasn’t he? He beat his parents and did all this mean stuff?!” 

Nanu hesitated; “W-well, Koji…” He was lightly pushed away by the child when he stormed off. He didn’t expect the boy to take off, standing up and brushing dirt off his dark-colored jeans. “This isn’t going to go well when he and I go home…” 

“You might need to give Guzma a call before he comes to have lunch with us. Probably need to just take Koji home right now to get this straightened out.” Kukui looked back in the direction Puloki went, his muscles tensing again with anger. “It’d be best to let Guzma talk to Koji.”

Nanu dipped his head, taking off to look for the boy. 

Luana gently tugged at her father’s lab coat, a dejected look on her face as she worried for her friend. “Dad?” When getting his attention, her eyes drooped even further to express her concern. “Was that man really Koji’s granddad?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Kukui said as he let out a sigh, “I’ll tell you when we get home later. For now, we should finish helping out until your mother joins us for lunch.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plumeria waited at the entrance to Po Town for Nanu and Koji, brows twisting upward with uneasiness when spotting the two walking up the road. She tried approaching the child, “Koji!” 

He completely ignored her, walking straight into town. 

Nanu stood by the woman and shook his head; “He wasn’t talking to me the whole boat ride here. Whatever Puloki said really got him.”

“How did that bastard even know Koji was his grandson? I highly doubt Guzma told him about Koji…”

Nanu rubbed his neck, “I mean...the kid looks just like his father. You’d have to be a real moron to not see the resemblance.” 

Plumeria rolled her eyes and hurried back into Po Town with Nanu not too far behind. 

Koji marched up the stairs and down the hall, straight to his room. He wasn’t expecting Guzma to be sitting there waiting for him. 

For a moment, his expression changed from anger to worry, seeing hurt in his father’s eyes. But that quickly went away when he stomped over; “Why were you so mean back then?! Nobody did anything wrong to you!”

“Koji…” Guzma stood up, completely facing his son with a saddened expression. “Your gramps is the one who did somethin’ wrong to me. I’m sure he told you everythin’ he WANTED to tell ya.” 

Seeing the boy didn’t buy what he said, he held his hands behind his back and exhaled softly, “He’s not an honest guy, Koji. He’s a liar, he hurt his family.”

“He said YOU hit him! With a golf club!” Koji growled, “He showed me the scars!”

“Yeah, I did. I bet he told ya I was doing it ‘cause I didn’t wanna listen to his ‘kind advice’, didn’t he?”

“Well...yeah…” Koji frowned, “He said you lost a lot and you took it out on him and your mom…”

Guzma did his best not to lose his temper hearing what his father told his son, shaking his head gently. “I never took out my anger on ‘em...it was your GRAMPS that did that. I hit ‘im cause I was defendin’ myself.”

“How do I know you’re the one not lying?!” Koji barked, digging his nails into the palms of his hands, he had them clenched so tightly. “You could be the one tellin’ stories and my grandpa is the one who is right!”

“Koji-”

“Shut up! You hurt a lot of people! He also told me you tried ruinin’ the Pokémon league, and you beat up a lot of trainers weaker than you! And you helped nearly destroy Alola!” Koji was red in the face, he was so angry with his father. 

Guzma’s lips parted, baring his teeth as frustration built up more and more. He couldn’t get another word in, Koji was ranting so much and so loudly. But some of the things his son said he did was, in fact, true. It made him question what all Puloki told him that was actually true. 

“You were a bit fat jerk back then! You were so mean to everyone, and I bet you made everyone here listen to you so they wouldn’t get hurt either-”

“ENOUGH!!” Guzma had it, he couldn’t contain his pent-up frustration any longer and just threw a blind fist. He expected to hit a wall. 

But there was a loud thud and a high-pitched wail.

His eyes shot wide and his heart immediately began to race, aghast seeing that he didn’t hit a wall. 

He struck Koji with his stray fist. 

He trembled, bringing his hand to his face to see small spots of blood on his knuckles. Guzma fell to his knees and crawled over to his son; “K-Koji, I didn’t mean it, I swear! Lemme see where I hit ya-”

Koji shied away from him, sobbing in dismay and hiding under a nearby table. His nose was bleeding horribly and looked crooked. 

Plumeria and Nanu rushed into the room, having heard the yell from the boy. 

“Guzma, what happened?!” Plumeria asked, looking around the room, “Where’s Koji?”

Nanu squinted, noticing the blotches on Guzma’s hand. “What did you do…” He spoke in a deep, scared tone. 

Both of them heard the sobbing under the table to their right, Plumeria getting on her hands and knees to look under it. She was appalled seeing Koji’s nose completely red and bleeding, her breath escaped her in a loud gasp. 

There was blood all over the lower half of the child’s face, it poured from his nostrils. He was breathing from his mouth and his sounded as if his throat was full of mucus, and bruises were already developing around his nose and under his eyes. 

“I didn’t mean to do it! I-I was so upset with-”

“With your father? Yeah, we had a feeling you would.” Nanu cut off Guzma, looking furious. “WHY would you hit him?”

“I wasn’t tryin’ to hit him, honest!”

“Koji, come here…” Plumeria reached out to the boy, being as gentle and patient with him as possible. With what he had just gone through, she knew he’d be scared out of his little mind. “We need to take you to see a doctor right now to look at your nose…” She flinched when Koji suddenly smacked her hand away and made a run for the door, dashing out of his room and out of the large house. 

Guzma immediately tried running after him, until Nanu stopped him. “The last person he’d wanna see right now is you, unfortunately. Let us follow him and when he’s calmed down, we’ll let you know when you can talk to him. Properly.” 

Plumeria was the first to leave the room, running out of the house to find the boy. 

Nanu hurried after her, leaving Guzma in Koji’s bedroom to let his mind race from what he had just done. 

He grabbed his head, black and white hair tangling around his fingers while he anxiously paced around the room. “What is wrong with you, Guzma?!”


	5. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting injured, Koji flees to the Kukui household. Meanwhile, the adults try to figure out how to bring the son and father together again and return the once strong family bong Koji and Guzma shared.

Kukui placed four plates of food onto the little table surrounded by dark-colored couches. The moon almost overpowered the interior lights from the window, just barely poking out from behind trees and a few distant buildings.

Luana held chopsticks excitedly, snatching one of the plates and scarfing down her early dinner. Rei looked at his little sister in bewilderment, slowly taking his plate next. 

Burnet and Kukui laughed. “You must be getting ready for your next growth spurt!” Burnet patted her daughter on the head, then taking her own pair of chopsticks with one of the other plates of food.

Her husband sat down and nodded; “At this rate, she’ll be taller than me with how many growth spurts she’s getting.” Just as he picked up a clump of rice off his plate, he heard frantic knocking on the front door. He slumped in disappointment, putting down his chopsticks and food; “Why is it we don’t get company until I try to eat my food..?” 

“Oh, you big baby, I’ll answer it.” Burnet rolled her eyes and put her food down, standing up out of her seat and approaching the door. She didn’t immediately see someone and raised a brow in confusion. That is until she heard wailing outside on the porch.

Burnet then immediately opened the door and was alarmed to see Koji standing there, shivering and holding his hands out below his face, blood pooling in his palms. “Kukui, grab a towel, QUICK!” She yelled, grabbing the child and rushing him into the house. 

Kukui jumped to his feet when seeing the young boy in his wife’s arms, who was sobbing uncontrollably and bleeding through his nose. “Koji?!” Kukui hurried into the bathroom, grabbing a couple of towels and a box of tissues.

Rei and Luana’s eyes shot wide, appalled at the sight of the young boy’s current condition.

Burnet placed him on the couch, gently pushing him to lean back against the seat. “Shh, shh, it’s okay, Koji..! Does it hurt a lot?” She stroked the side of his face, her heart ached to see him in such a state.

Koji muttered; “A l-lot!”

“Did he break his nose?” Rei asked worriedly. Kukui held out the towels to his wife, trying to piece together what happened. Luana was scared for her friend, scooting closer to him to help her mother calm him down. 

Burnet continued brushing her hand against the side of the child’s face, careful not to touch any tender spot near his eyes or nose. “Rei, get me one of the ice packs from the freezer.” She pointed to the kitchen, not taking her eyes off the boy. She took the smallest towel from her husband and very gently dabbed it below Koji’s nose until he recoiled badly and let out a pained scream. 

Rei dipped his head to his mother and immediately went into the kitchen.

Burnet sighed, “We’re gonna have to take him to the emergency room if he’s bleeding this much. His nose is really crooked…poor thing probably can’t breathe through it...”

“Who could’ve done this..? And how did he get here on his own? Especially unnoticed?” Kukui sat beside Koji, putting an arm across the back of the couch behind the boy. “Koji, what happened for you to get injured like this?”

Koji looked up at Kukui, flinching when Burnet tried cleaning his face again. “D-dad did...I-I was y-yelling at him a-and then he...h-he hit me..!”

“Guzma did this?!” Kukui was taken aback, he couldn’t believe what he heard.

Burnet covered her mouth, daunted by what Koji said. She quickly took the ice pack from Rei, who stood there just as shocked as they were. “Oh, sweetheart...I’m so sorry…” Burnet pulled the boy onto her lap and wrapped her arms around him, letting him bury his head under her chin. 

She looked to her husband; “Let’s take him to the emergency room first, and then one of us should call Plumeria and ask for the full story.”

“Agreed.” Kukui stood up, holding out his hands to help Burnet stand while she held onto the little boy. 

Luana was at a loss for words, she was in tears for Koji having to see him bleeding so much and in pain. She didn’t even hesitate to do what she could to help her friend. And just like her parents, she too questioned why his father would do such a thing to him. Luana never truly saw Guzma as an aggressive person, let alone hit his own son. 

“Luana, go ahead and pull out your trundle bed so when we get back, Koji can rest. I have a feeling he’ll be staying with us for a while…” Kukui tapped his daughter’s shoulder, removing his hat to rub his forehead in slight dismay.

“Yes, sir.” Luana dipped her head and hurried into her bedroom, leaving her parents to prepare to take Koji to the Hau’oli Hospital.

“I’ll stay here with Luana, dad. Let me know what else I can do to help.” Rei said to Kukui with a firm look on his face, gathering the plates of food left on the table to bring into the kitchen.

Kukui nodded; “Thank you, Rei.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Right, I see…” Kukui stood outside of the waiting room in the ER on his phone, his free hand in his lab coat pocket. He stared up at the paneled-ceiling calmly while listening to the person on the other line. “Well, I’m not sure how he got to our house is the thing. Unless he took a ride Pokémon, which wouldn’t make sense as to how he got a hold of a pager. I just find it odd he managed to get all the way here by himself and especially while he was injured.” 

He rubbed the bridge of his nose beneath his shades, sighing into the phone. “We’re at the emergency room right now getting Koji’s nose looked at, the doctor took one look at him and could immediately tell there was some kind of fracture. He’s just not sure how severe it is. We’ll keep you updated but for now, I’d advise making Guzma explain exactly what happened. I would be more than happy to keep Koji with me and Burnet for as long as needed if things go downhill from here.” Kukui, sounding even more frustrated than before, hung up his phone and stepped into the doorway of the small room the child was being held in. 

Koji was laying on the gurney with cotton tissues below his nose and gauze gently placed along the top. 

Burnet noticed her husband standing there and approached him, following him out into the hallway. “What did Plumeria say?”

“She said she doesn’t even know for sure what happened. All she knows is that she was talking to Nanu and they suddenly heard Guzma shout, then Koji screaming. And Guzma is apparently so upset, he won’t even talk to her. Nanu can’t even get anything other than empty threats too.” Kukui grumbled to himself afterward, folding his arms over his chest and eyes narrowing. 

Burnet put a hand on his arms, “Then I guess Koji will be staying with us for a few days?” She asked.

“More than that, I’m sure. Until we get the full story out of Guzma, we just need to assume Koji will be LIVING with us for some time. I don’t want him going back to Po Town with the risk of him getting hit again…”

“Right…” Burnet looked into the room, seeing Koji passed out. Understandable considering the stress he had been under for who knows how long. “I can’t help but think this is all just a huge accident...Guzma had never been aggressive to Koji at all before. So, why now?”

Then, Kukui realized something; “Actually...earlier today, Guzma’s father showed up out of nowhere while we were working in Hau’oli Cemetery and was talking with Koji...maybe that has something to do with all this…”

While the couple was trying to come up with a reason for the father to have hurt his son, Nanu showed up. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important, I just came to see how the poor kid was doing.”

“Oh, you’re not bothering us. Koji’s asleep right now, actually.” Kukui looked behind his wife, seeing the old man approaching from down the hall.

Burnet nodded, turning around to face Nanu; “We’re just waiting to hear what the doctor thinks should be done to help Koji and the severity of his fracture.”

“Ah, so Guzma did break his nose after all? Damn it…” Nanu rubbed the back of his head, sighing heavily.

Kukui stepped closer toward Nanu; “Did you get anything out of Guzma before coming here?”

“Not exactly…” Nanu replied with a slight growl; “Guzma is pretty upset about it, however. So I don’t think he really meant to do it. Even when we got into the room shortly after it happened, he kept saying to us he didn’t mean to hurt Koji. We were just so shocked about the whole ordeal we didn’t exactly pay close attention to what he said, we were just worried for Koji.” 

A silence swept over the three adults, getting lost in their own thoughts, the old man crossing his arms and slowly exhaling. “Even if we can get Guzma to tell us what happened, I hope that Koji won’t be too scared to let him apologize and reconnect with him. I’m sure that hit in the face won’t ever leave the kid’s mind.”

“I don’t doubt that. But until then, we’ll let Koji stay with us. Just be sure you and Plumeria keep us updated, I’m really worried what this might do to their relationship in the long run…”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days had passed since Koji had gone to the ER for his nose, which was healing pretty well. He had a small rectangular gauze across the bridge of his nose, concealing the slight bend it had now. The bruises around his eyes and nose were still very visible but weren’t as purple as they were before. 

He and Luana played outside, though they had to be a lot more cautious about what they played due to Koji’s injury. 

Kukui and Burnet watched them from the porch, relieved to at least see that the boy was slowly going back to his usual self. 

“So, what’re we going to do when Guzma gets here to talk to him?” Burnet looked to her husband with concern, resting her head on her hand.

Kukui shrugged; “We’re gonna have to play it by ear, there isn’t much we can do but help Koji overcome whatever fears he might have of Guzma, and make sure Guzma is patient with him…it’s gonna take a lot of effort from all of us to make sure their relationship isn’t sour forever. All because of Puloki…”

While his nose was still recovering, Koji had a bit of a harder time breathing through his nostrils, which made it a lot easier for him to get worn out while playing. He paused from chasing Luana to catch his breath, sitting down in the sand and taking slight heavy breaths. 

The young girl returned to him and sat next to him; “Maybe we should take a break for now.”

“Yeah.” Koji giggled and laid down flat on the beach. 

His Salandit came running over with Luana’s Pikipek following in the air, heading toward the children and resting beside them. They all had a great time just relaxing and sunbathing for a good five minutes until hearing people approaching from the main road. 

Koji sat up and looked behind him, seeing Plumeria and Nanu, and beamed. “Auntie Plumeria, Uncle Nanu!” He got up and jogged over to them, still having to catch his breath. 

“‘Sup, Koji? You’re looking a lot better today.” Plumeria gently rubbed the boy’s head, messing up his hair.

Koji pushed her hand away laughing; “Yeah, the doctor says my nose is healing up real good! And soon I won’t need this big gauze thingy. But maybe I’ll wear a normal bandaid on it from now on, I don’t like the bump my nose has now.” He pointed directly to his nose, flinching in slight pain when he tried wiggling it. He then froze in place like a deerling in headlights, spotting his father walking up to them.

Guzma immediately saw Koji and sheepishly waved to him, his voice hoarse and quiet; “H-hey there, squirt..! How have ya been holdin’ up?”

Koji dashed to the house, running up the steps and nearly throwing himself into the front door. 

Burnet quickly followed the child inside while Kukui approached the three adults on the beach. “I was afraid this would happen…” He said to them.

Nanu sighed, looking back at Guzma with Plumeria, seeing the man was nearly in tears having seen just how scared Koji was of him. 

Kukui led them inside with Luana not too far behind. 

The moment they stepped into the house, they noticed Koji on the couch clinging to Burnet. 

“Koji...he’s here to apologize and make up for what he did. He never meant to hurt you, I promise.” Burnet stroked the child’s head soothingly, glancing over at the group with a worrisome look.

Koji shuddered and shook his head, still holding on to the woman’s shirt dearly; “B-but…”

“Koji, please…” Guzma stood in front of the group to look at his son, getting on his knees and holding out his arms to invite him for a hug. “I promise you, I didn’t mean to hurt ya...I didn’t mean to lose my temper. Lemme make it up to ya- we’ll go get ice cream, I’ll help ya catch another Pokémon, a-and I’ll even help ya train ‘em up! Just- ….I’m sorry...really, I am…just come home with me…” 

As much as the other adults felt their hearts melting witnessing Guzma expressing his feelings to his son, trying to make compromises and proving that when he said ‘sorry’, he meant it, they stood there with bated breath. They hoped something good would happen next. 

Burnet looked down at the child in her arms, seeing him just barely looking over to his father with his face mostly hidden, tears in his big, dark eyes. 

Slowly, Koji pulled away from Burnet, staring down at his hands in his lap. 

“Koji…” Guzma repeated; “I’m sorry. I’ll keep sayin’ it until ya believe me.” He crossed his legs, sitting on his butt on the wooden floor with his arms still outstretched. “I know ya probably don’t believe it right now but- I love ya, son. I always have, and that’ll never change.” 

Koji glanced back to his father, still not saying a word or making any movements toward him. 

Guzma continued; “You were right back there when ya said I was a jerk...I did a lot of bad things long before ya were born. But it was because of what MY father did to me when I was yer age...I thought the world was against me all my life, until the biggest mistake I ever made changed that...since then, I vowed to change for the better. Some of the things your stupid grandfather said were true, yes, but...the past don’t matter. I wanna be somethin’ that old fart could never be- a REAL father. But that’s if ya let me…”

Guzma’s speech nearly brought everyone to tears, they were amazed by every word he had said. But now they all looked to Koji, secretly begging for him to finally accept his father’s apology. 

The boy held still, not making a single move. Suddenly, Koji burst into tears, leaping off the couch and running toward Guzma. He tackled him into a hug, sobbing into his black and white jacket. 

That very moment, Guzma too burst into tears and clung to his son dearly. 

Both Burnet and Plumeria covered their mouths, tears of joy seeping from their eyes. Even Luana was choking back tears. 

Nanu sneered, throwing his hands in the air; “Oh thank Arceus this is over..!” 

Everyone laughed at the old man, most wiping their eyes at the same time and watching the old kahuna lean against the wall dramatically.

Plumeria rolled her eyes; “For once, I agree with you.” She matched his big grin, returning her gaze to the father and son still crying and hugging on the floor.

Kukui looked around the room; “I’d say we should ALL go for ice cream after this, yeah?”

“Yes!” Luana ran over, jumping up and down. “I want some vanilla ice cream!”

“By the way, Guzma.” Kukui knelt down to the man, “The doctor taking care of Koji wanted to see him again tomorrow if you bring him back in the morning. That’ll be his last visit to make sure he doesn’t get an infection or any bacteria in his head.”

Guzma finally looked away from Koji and up to Kukui, “Actually, I think just fer tonight I’m gonna stay the night here with Koji. Just to avoid an unnecessary boat ride, ya know?”

“Fine by me, we’ll make a bed for you on the couch then.”

Late that night, Koji quietly emerged from Luana’s bedroom, looking around in the darkness. He jumped hearing obnoxious snoring in the living room. The boy quietly headed in that direction, tip-toeing toward the couches. 

He gazed upon the sprawled out figure, one arm dangling onto the floor and the other draped over his forehead. Guzma was even drooling with his mouth agape while letting out various snorts and snores. 

Koji couldn’t help but let out a giggle, until realizing he was a bit louder than he wanted to be. He froze when seeing he had woken up his father, who looked directly at him with a groggy stare. “What’s up, squirt..?” Guzma whispered.

Koji didn’t give a verbal answer, he approached his father and crawled onto the couch, laying down in front of him and curling up into a ball. 

Guzma smiled softly and pulled out the blanket to cover his son with it. He laid back down and put an arm around the boy; “Goodnight, Koji.”

“Goodnight, Dad.”

Without saying another word to each other, they both passed out. 

They weren’t aware that the next morning, Kukui and Burnet would find them in the almost exact same sleeping position and snoring. Both drooling too. 

Kukui smirked to Burnet; “All Koji needs is to dye the top of his head white and he’ll be a mini-Guzma.” 

“Nah, he already is one.” Burnet laughed.

Guzma and Koji boarded the boat to go back to Po Town, the little boy sitting on his father’s shoulders as they stood at the back of the ship to wave at the other family on the docks. 

“Thanks for lettin’ me stay over for a while, Mr. Kukui and Mrs. Burnet!”

“Hey, our home is your home, Koji!” Kukui shouted back, “You’re welcome to sneak back over any time your dad gives you grief again!”

“Fat chance, nerd!” Guzma chuckled, using one hand to hold on to Koji while waving with the other.   
Koji then hugged his father’s head, “Do you think we can look for a Rockruff for me when we get back home, dad?”

“Whatever ya want, Koji.”


End file.
